Title

Paper Versus Electronic Medical Records: The Effects of Access on Physicians' Decisions to Use Complex Information Technologies

Authors

Authors

V. Ilie; C. Van Slyke; M. A. Parikh;J. F. Courtney

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Decis. Sci.

Keywords

Electronic Medical Records; Health Care IT Adoption; IT Accessibility; Survey; and TAM; PROVIDER ORDER ENTRY; PERCEIVED EASE; ACCEPTANCE MODEL; 2004 ACMI; ADOPTION; SYSTEMS; USAGE; CARE; ACCESSIBILITY; RESISTANCE; Management

Abstract

This study examines physicians' responses to complex information technologies (IT) in the health care supply chain. We extend individual-level IT adoption models by incorporating a new construct: system accessibility. The main premise of the study is, when faced with a decision between alternate IT systems, individual users tend to select and make use of the technology or system that is most readily accessible. We discuss both physical and logical dimensions of accessibility as they relate to adoption of electronic medical records (EMR). Physical accessibility refers to the availability of computers that can be used to access EMR, while logical accessibility refers to the ease or difficulty of logging into the system. Using data from a survey of 199 physicians practicing in a large U.S. hospital, we show that, when deciding between the paper chart and EMR, accessibility is an important consideration in a physician's decision to use the system. Both dimensions of accessibility act as barriers to EMR use intentions through their indirect effect on physicians' perceptions of EMR usefulness and ease of use. Logical access also has a direct effect on EMR use intentions. We conclude that accessibility is an important factor that limits acceptance of complex IT such as EMR.

Journal Title

Decision Sciences

Volume

40

Issue/Number

2

Publication Date

1-1-2009

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

213

Last Page

241

WOS Identifier

WOS:000266335800002

ISSN

0011-7315

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